Class of '09: 95 percent placed within nine months

April 13, 2010

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LEWISBURG, Pa. — Despite a continued down economy, 95 percent of Bucknell University's Class of 2009 was successfully placed — employed, enrolled in graduate school or volunteering — within nine months of graduation.

The post graduate survey, conducted by Bucknell's Career Development Center, showed that 59 percent of the members of the Class of '09 were employed, 23 percent were enrolled in graduate or professional school and 4 percent were both working and in graduate school. About 6 percent were volunteering or traveling.

"Given the economic downturn this class encountered, the results are quite positive," said Pam Keiser, director of the Career Development Center, who noted that 98 percent of the class responded to the survey.

Even with the start-and-stutter economy, the Class of '09 had a higher placement rate than the Class of '08, which had 93 percent of its graduates placed within nine months of graduation.

Average salariesAverage salaries for the Class of '09 dropped slightly from the year before. Overall, the average salary for the class was $47,480.

The average salary for College of Arts and Sciences degree recipients, however, increased slightly to $42,502.

Graduates from the College of Engineering had an average salary of $54,996. The average salary for business administration majors was $50,401.

Of those reporting employment, 62 percent were in business, 12 percent in education, 13 percent in government and nonprofit organizations, and 8 percent in research and industry.

Professional programsOf those in graduate programs, 38 percent were in professional programs — 18 percent medical, 18 percent law and 2 percent business — 19 percent were in humanities and social services, 15 percent were in engineering and 10 percent in science.

The Northeast corridor —- from Boston to Washington, D.C. — remains the biggest draw for Bucknell graduates with 82 percent of the Class of '09 remaining in that region of the United States. About 6 percent of the recent grads relocated to the Midwest, 6 percent to the West and 3 percent to the South.

Of those remaining in the Northeast, 24 percent were concentrated in Pennsylvania, 16 percent in New York, 15 percent in New Jersey and 13 percent in the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area.

InternationalAbout 2 percent of the graduates located internationally, including in Bulgaria, Canada, Estonia, India, Japan, Mexico, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand and the United Kingdom.

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